The Strength in the Wild
by CrzyAngelchic
Summary: In a time when Lord Voldemort now reigns, Angelina and a band of followers have fled to the moutains to escape the ruins of Britain. Unbeknown to them, their long trail leads them into dangerous territory. Angelina and Charlie fic. More summary inside
1. The Rise of a New Era

**Summary:** Voldemort reigns and is now slowly but surely ridding his wizarding world of those with "dirtied blood". Many have fled to the mountains, Angelina being one of them. She and her band of followers come across dangers they have no clue of overcoming. Help arrives with Charlie Weasley, one of the few Weasley members left, and together they must find a way to restore order in a now dying world filled with evil.

A/N: Hi all. This is only my third Fanfiction but this one is special. I've been thinking up this idea for a long time so hopefully it'll be a long one. So get to reviewing! And I hope you enjoy :_smiles sweetly_:

* * *

**The Strength in the Wild**

_By Crzyangelchic_

**_Chapter 1: _**The Rise of an Era

She had been running for her life for so long, there didn't seem any other way of living. Her whole being had been reverted to that of basic survival, not allowing her to appreciate the beauty of what had once come with being a witch.

Lord Voldemort reigned.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had defeated the young man who had been prophesized to bring forth peace and salvation from a modern day evil. Harry Potter was dead along with many of his followers. Voldemort had been promoted to He-Who-Lords-Over-Us-All, and even to utter those words were dangerous. Dumbledore's name was never spoken and was punishable by _Crucio_. Other important wizards from what was once known as The Order of the Phoenix was also prohibited from speech or books. A mass burning of books was held, but surprisingly, it was the burning of books full of Dark Magic. Many hypothesized that Voldemort did not want anyone but his most trusted minions learning the Dark Arts in the event that the public decided to overthrow him. Others hypothesized that the book burning was just to deceive the public and that the most vile of the Dark Magic books still remained in Voldemort's possession. But Dark Arts were the least of the general public's problem.

The assortment of dark creatures and Death Eaters that patrolled the streets, asking for passports and other identification, killing at random especially if you are not of pure blood, was astounding. Britain was completely taken over and all its half-blood and muggleborn wizards had their wands destroyed. Those that survived the random killings by the Dementors and werewolves had fled to neighboring countries and as far as China. Voldemort, however, was stretching his power as well and had begun to invade other neighboring countries. Powerless, hunted, and suddenly of a dying minority, many half-blood and muggleborn wizards and witches fled to the mountain, hiding as the Giants still did from the Dark wizards taking over their world.

This is where we meet Angelina and her band of followers.

Angelina's genealogy was not certain, but the Lords of the time saw her to be of dirtied blood. The Malfoy Family tree, along with other old and powerful pureblood family trees were sought after and a massive scanning of all wizards done. If your name was not on a family tree (even if it once was but then had been blasted off), you were not considered pure blood. Many people tried to pretend they possessed nothing but the purest of bloods, but in the end, Voldemort constructed a massive tree that showed nearly all the people of Britain. And those not on the Tree was subject to torture and shame.

Angelina's mother had died around the same time when Harry Potter and the Order had fallen. The epic battle had torn through the country and even bordering ones were affected as well. Angelina, however, had been thousands of miles and an ocean away in America where she was playing on the Chudley Cannons Professional Quidditch team. She had come back to a country in ruins, run by an insane and evil conqueror, and now she was suddenly considered in the lowest order of society. Her only choice had been to run. And she has been doing so with a band of people she had met along the way.

Along the harsh woodlands and the mighty mountains of the eastern border of Britain they traveled. Many "packs", as they had come to affectionately call themselves, littered the area, but one was never to meet up with another one. Everyone operated by stealth, because Voldemort tolerated no one to disobey him and flee his wrath. Some of the most gruesome stories were of captured fugitives, and these stories were what kept Angelina and her crew moving.

They traveled slow and nomadic. They knew not where they were headed except southeast, far away from the war. They would set up camp, keep watch, stay alert, and within a few weeks, even sometimes days or hours, they were moving again. Sometimes they shared a cave with animals. Wandless and distressed, many fugitives had died from the harshness of nature or from one of her animals while trying to live the life of mountain dwellers. Thankfully, no one from Angelina's pack had suffered such a fate.

But they were undeniably lost, walking in perpetual circles. No one possessed a map or compass and none could use magic. This was perhaps the most crippling hardship that these former wizards had to endure. Once raised on the luxuries of magic, the people of the mountains felt they were less than defenseless, more than simply _vulnerable,_ without their powers. Like prehistoric humans, they relied on tools and weapons from nature and the little clothes and food they had scraped from their houses before they left.

But after years and years of living along-side the creatures of the mountain, the little food and clothing from home were ultimately exhausted. The wrath of Lord Voldemort had spread along the bordering countries and entering an unknown town was just as dangerous as showing up at the Lord's doorstep back in London. The fugitive people often wondered about (and hoped for) muggle intervention. After the first couple years had passed, they figured the muggles either still didn't know, or didn't care.

Eight years Angelina and her crew roamed the mountains, surrendering all thought of ever returning to normal wizarding activities, or eating normal food again, taking normal showers, seeing loved ones and friends, or believing in the possibility of Good conquering Evil. It took eight years, as Voldemort's power grew stronger and the muggleborn and half-blood public of the wizarding world grew weaker, before a step was finally taken in the right direction and, from then, a new beginning could be reborn.

* * *

A/N: Please **review**. It would mean so much and would help me update faster and write more. 

A/N2: if anyone sees any mistakes or things that dont hold true feel free to tell me in reviews. I'll fix them and then give you a well deserved shout-out thanks in the next chapter. :-)


	2. Hiding

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or anything in affiliation with the series.

A/N: I hope that disclaimer is good enough. I forgot to put it up in the first chapter. Here's chapter 2, thanks for allll the wonderful support from chapter 1. Yes, this story will be long, but I am putting alot of thought into it. Helpful criticism and compliments are always appreciated. To my reviews so far, _Abby, Black, Quiddie 15, Angelface04, and Elsa_, thanks so much. Dont forget to review again. To everyone new, hope you enjoy the story!

* * *

**The Strength In The Wild**

_By Crzyangelchic_

_**Chapter 2:**_ Hiding

The streets were blurry and dark even thought it was barely passed three in the afternoon. Angelina wasn't sure if it was because it was now winter in Britain or if the evil from the Dark creatures were sucking up the sunlight and happiness in the air. She knew the blurriness came from the tears obstructing her view. Her mother had died while she had been away and she had come back to find everything she had ever known to be in ruins. She stumbled along the street, much of it deserted, and turned right at a corner. It began to snow and in her blind stumbling, she bumped into something and fell to her knees.

"Get up, woman. Show your papers."

Before Angelina could react, a gruff hand pulled her roughly to her feet. Ignoring the warnings flaring in her head, she raised her head proudly, glaring at the shadowy being that had knocked her to the ground.

"Show your damn papers," he said again, "you filthy mudblood". His voice was coarse and it reminded Angelina of stone grating on stone. Bits of spit flew from his mouth as he spoke but Angelina didn't lower her face. She knew she didn't have papers. She knew this man could subject her to whatever punishment he felt a lowlife like her deserved. But she wouldn't lower her face.

His face remained in shadow as he laughed at her. Flecks of spit hit her face. "So you're not going to comply, huh? Do you know walking around without your papers is punishable…" He leaned forward, finally showing his face. Angelina hid a shudder. "You're a pretty thing. I'm sure I can think of a way to punish you."

Angelina showed the first sign of fear as his meaning took affect. Her eyes widened slightly and she tried to back away slowly. He grabbed her arm and Angelina began to struggle.

"Let go of me!" She screamed. The other people walking along the streets kept going on their way.

"You're a filthy mudblood. You know you want it as bad as I do."

He was wrestling with her now, trying to grab her flailing arms. She somehow reached up and slapped him. His face, one so scarred and deformed Mad-Eye Moody would look like an Adonis, broke into a hideous smile. "I like when a bitch has some fight in her."

"No, dammit!" She was struggling harder now as he began to take their tussle into a darker, scarier alley in the street. "I'll pay you money? Is that what you want? I have jewelry. My…my mother's jewelry, dammit!"

And as Angelina continued to fight and offer him bribes, he drag her, bodily, into the cold, cold darkness…

------------

"Lina. Lina wake up."

Angelina stayed with her back facing him. Her eyes were open and she stared blankly at the stone wall in front of her.

"I wasn't sleeping," she said evenly. The floor of the cave was hard and her muscles never quite got used to being in contact with stone even through all those years. The makeshift blankets padded with grasses that members of the pack made to sleep on provided little cushioning against the stone of the cave floor.

A hand reached over and gently pulled her shoulder back so that she was now lying on her back. She looked up into a grisly looking face, which she knew at one time had looked quite handsome.

"Then why were you just laying there, Li?" he asked gently.

Not wanting to worry him, Angelina smiled briefly. "I was just…thinking."

He gave her a look, but didn't follow up on it. "We have to get moving again. Justin says that the snow clouds look to be heading this way, and if we get snowed in like last time…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We wont be so lucky to cuddle up with the wolves like last time," she said sitting up and stretching her aching muscles. She was craving some of that green leaf tea Marietta always made to relieve aches and pains.

"Yes, that's still a miracle. They probably wouldn't have let us even near them, especially with young, had you not healed one of there members before. It's still phenomenal that you even knew animal healing remedies."

Angelina was one of the few in her camp that knew of any non-magical medicinal treatments. She had taken a class on it at Hogwarts when she had considered a career in healing. That life seemed so long ago. And so very lost.

She got up from her blanket and began tucking it back into her carryon sack, which held her other measly possessions. She was guessing they would be picking up camp and moving again soon before the light outside became too bright.

He continued to talk but Angelina barely listened. He paused here and there to brush particles of leaf and dust from her hair and clothes. He asked her how she felt and recommended she get some green leaf tea for her aches and pains.

"I saved you some, because I saw that you hadn't come over this morning and I didn't want _Jerry_ to drink it all up like always."

He looked at her, waiting for her response. She gave herself a mental shake, trying to remember what he might've been talking about last.

"Oh…uh, thanks, Alan," she replied meekly. He smiled broadly and started rambling on again.

Angelina was used to this, however. Living with a small group of only about a dozen or so people allowed everyone to get to know each other's habits and to get excessively close with everyone else. And many took advantage of the intimacy that harsh, crowded living brought to a group of wanderers. Angelina, however, had kept herself to herself. And although she predicted that Alan liked her (he too had refused to become…intimate with anyone else), she didn't return his feelings. She allowed him to fuss over her and compliment her, but he wasn't what she was looking for. _She_ didn't even really know what she was looking for, but she didn't want to become close to anyone just yet.

She walked over to the pot of tea with a now silent Alan. The pot was big and old and had been one of the other few treasures they had come across in their many wanderings. Every now and then, in extreme destitution, someone would get fed up and venture into a nearby town to search for food and supplies. Angelina had done it once. It wasn't something she would like to repeat.

She sat down crossed legged by the fire, sipped her tea, and watched as various other members packed their things, just as measly as hers, in the semi-darkness.

"You're unusually quiet today, Li."

Angelina turned her head slightly towards him and saw him watching her with worried eyes.

"I'm quiet every day, Alan."

"No, _unusually_ quiet."

She waited for him go on but he didn't. She looked down into the chipped cup, another little treasure.

"I'm just…thinking," she finished finally.

Both was spared from the awkward silence that followed when a short little man came over and plopped down on the other side of Angelina.

"Li, you're finally up, huh? You're lucky this one is such a good friend here. I practically had to fight him for the last cup of tea."

Jerry's comment was punctuated with a goofy grin and he looked passed Angelina towards Alan. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Alan turning red.

"Well, yeah, Li, he did get that last cup. So I gave you mine."

Angelina turned compassionate eyes toward Alan. For all the fussiness and annoyance in his personality, he was a good friend and a good person.

Angelina shot an annoyed look towards Jerry. "Well it would've been just as easy for you to split some of yours with me or Al instead of drinking three cups of it."

"Oh, no you don't, Li," Jerry interjected playfully. "I only managed two cups today. Tea's always hard to come by in the winter months, with the trees dying and all." Angelina rolled her eyes. The trees _didn't_ die and the tea was made from several bushes of herbs. But she let him continue. "And plus," he added, "I was going to share, but Ally here was all eager to sacrifice himself for you. I just couldn't argue with that."

Alan turned a shade darker and mumbled something inaudible.

Angelina turned back to Jerry. "That's not self sacrificing, that's just being a good person."

"You saying I'm not a good person? Me, Li?"

"Hm, lets see," she pretended to consider it. "Your selfish and rude and inconsiderate and obnoxious. No, I wouldn't nominate you for any good Samaritan awards or put you charge of handling anything with sharp edges."

Alan laughed out loud and Angelina hid a smile.

"Ouch. The lady has won that round."

"Damn right I have."

Angelina and Jerry had been battling it out forever. Similarly, everyone and Jerry have been battling it out. He wasn't one to get over on wits so most people in the group was on the upper hand. However, if one was easily intimidated, like Alan was, Jerry could be a nightmare.

Jerry turned mischievous eyes towards Alan. "Well, the lady has touché-d me on that one. But I'm sure that's more that she's ever touché-d you—"

Before Angelina could get mad again and Alan could blush some more, a shadow loomed above them.

"Come _on_ people. We have to leave before the sun gets too bright." Justin was always the practical one.

Angelina was loath to end the bantering but she realized the problems they would encounter if they didn't have some shadowing of cover to leave by. By the time the sun rose high in the sky, the air and the mountain lands would be crawling with dark creatures hunting for fugitives.

She took one last sip of her tea, which was tepid and bitter by now, and put the cup back with her belongings. Standing up she scanned the cave and its occupants.

"Has everyone packed and have our trails been erased?" she asked Justin. She knew that by now he had probably taken care of the finer details, but she always asked.

"Everyone's packed and waiting for you." He threw a look at Jerry and Alan still sitting on the ground. Moving closer, he lowered his voice. A sense of urgency clung to his tone. "The snow clouds are moving in faster than I predicted. We'll need to find shelter again by sundown."

Jerry finally stood up, looking Justin up and down. "Wait, what are you saying? Uh uh. I'm not leaving. We might get caught out in the snow if we leave here now," he said seriously. He had finally grasped the magnitude of the situation.

"We can't stay in the cave, the supplies here are exhausted," Justin shot back. "Plus, we are too low to the ground, the snow will fall in on us and pack us in."

"But at least we'll be dry—"

"Jerry! Which part of the snow will fall _in_ don't you understand?"

Angelina stepped before them. She didn't need them fighting right now and she was upset at how late they had stayed in the cave. They had to move now and they had to move fast.

"We can't stay in the cave for another reason, Jerry. It's been 3 weeks and we're on thin ice about being found. We should've left days ago." _Shit, shit, shit_, she thought. They were running all sorts of risks.

"But what about the snow?" Alan finally asked.

Angelina reached into her backpack and pulled out the map Susan, the artist of the group, had drawn up of the surrounding terrain. Angelina had been planning this new escape for days, but hadn't proposed it to the rest of the people yet. Dammit, why had they slacked off this time around?

"Shit, shit, shit," Jerry said, mirroring Angelina's previous thoughts. He ran over towards the mouth of the cave, pushed passed the leaves the group had carefully arranged at the opening to help conceal it, and looked up at the sky again.

Angelina traced her pattern on the map. If they planned this out _just_ right they should be able to find shelter by sundown. She hoped.

"Listen everybody!" she shouted suddenly. The nervous activity of the cave paused and all eyes turned to her.

Angelina took a deep breath. Over the years she had become used to being looked upon as their 'leader'. There wasn't much she had to do but plan escapes and keep everyone in check if things started to get ugly within the pack. Her Quidditch strategy skills that had helped her be a fabulous captain during her Hogwarts years also helped with their escape plans. Her quick temper and down to earth attitude usually helped keep everything running smoothly. Lately though, she had been off her mark and now she just wished her old mental skills would snap back in order.

"We must travel by the forest heading north along the Swirling River. We have to head towards the cave between the clefts in the Sun Facing mountain sides."

To anyone but these dozen people, the names given to specific landmarks would mean nothing. Now, however, every face in the room nodded.

"We have to stay close by the river, hidden under the branches and…" Angelina searched the faces, mentally closing her eyes to choose a person. "…Martin, you stay 500 yards ahead of the group."

She glanced around the group again. She hated this part. Always hated choosing who would go ahead and look for danger, ultimately placing their lives in harm's way first, and who would stay behind the group, trailing them so as to erase all trails and keep a lookout for enemies from the back. She looked around. Their eyes filled with determination. They were entering survival mode again, but she remembered each one individually and personally. She couldn't choose. She was their leader and she couldn't choose.

"And I'll…I'll stay behind the group and keep watch."

Some started to protest. She was their leader and was not dispensable. But Angelina didn't think anyone of her dozen was.

With that said, she nodded quickly to them and started helping Alan clean up the area where they had built a fire to make tea. Justin moved forward where she had just stood.

"Remember, everyone, there's snow coming and we're not going to get to Sun Face cave before it starts. Dress warmly and conserve your energy!"

There was now an anxious kind of tension in the room. Moving between hiding places was not only dangerous but also physically challenging. To avoid the same problem of being snowed in while at camp, they would have to climb up a steep path to get to the Sun Facing cave. And they had to make the trek before the heavy snow started. Angelina wouldn't allow herself to ponder it, but if she did she'd realize this was one of the more dangerous escapes they have encountered during their mountain hiding. But you just didn't think about things like that when you were running for your lives.

Once Justin had finished, everyone grabbed their belongings, ready for the journey. It was then that a single, thin voice rose above the bustle.

"You forgot to mention the last thing, Justin. 'If one is caught, he must not reveal us all. If one befalls the clutches of the dark, we must continue on into the light.'"

Angelina froze in the middle of what she was doing (along with everyone else) and just stood there. Everyone knew of the code, but no one had uttered it for some many years they've been traveling together. Angelina turned towards the center of the cave where young Elisa stood, staring back at everyone. She didn't look threatening or malicious; she simply stood there. Angelina didn't know what to say, but before anyone could say anything, a blur of color came rushing into the center to stand by Elisa.

"What the bloody HELL is everyone still doing here?" Jerry screamed, looking wildly around. "I can see Dementors in the distance, sucking away at the air in the far east." He looked around at the shocked faces.

"Run!"

* * *

A/N: Please **review**. Tell me what you think! 


	3. Forgotten

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or anything in affiliation with the series.

A/N: New update! Charlie finally makes an apparence. And another key character makes an apparence, one you may not have thought about. Yum! It's looking good guys, i'm all excited. Just finish writing it. So, thanks to all my reviews for reviewing. Don't forget to review again!

* * *

**_End of _Chapter 2: **Hiding 

"If one is caught, he must not reveal us all. If one befalls the clutches of the dark, we must continue on into the light."

Angelina froze in the middle of what she was doing (along with everyone else) and just stood there. Everyone knew of the code, but no one had uttered it for some many years they've been traveling together. Angelina turned towards the center of the cave where young Elisa stood, staring back at everyone. She didn't look threatening or malicious; she simply stood there. Angelina didn't know what to say, but before anyone could say anything, a blur of color came rushing into the center to stand by Elisa.

"What the bloody HELL is everyone still doing here?" Jerry screamed, looking wildly around. "I can see Dementors in the distance, sucking away at the air in the far east." He looked around at the shocked faces.

"Run!"

* * *

**The Strength In The Wild**

_By Crzyangelchic_

**_Chapter 3:_** Forgotten

It took about half a second before everyone started to react as one. Within a blink of an eye, everyone was heading towards the outlet of the cave, and total chaos had erupted. Backpacks that had never quite made it over the shoulder of their owners lay forgotten and scattered along the floor of the cave. Evidence that there had been fugitives hiding out in the cave was everywhere and no one cared. Everyone's mind was on one thing alone: survival.

But Angelina, leader to her group of outcasts, kept it together just a fraction of a bit more.

"Keep to the branches of the forests!" she shouted after them. "Head towards the cave, don't look back." And as she finished shouting she realized the cave was practically empty and it was only she and Alan left.

He didn't say anything, and although it had only taken seconds for everyone to have emptied the cave, she knew they didn't have time to just stand around and look at each other.

"Go, Alan," she half whispered urgently, for he looked as if he was intending to stand there all day and just look at her.

The expression on his face, one that had been of confusion, fear, and yearning, now turned to one of determination.

Angelina knew where this was going. "Dammit, Alan. Go!" she yelled at him. She pushed him towards the mouth of the cave. "You know the Tail has to stay behind the group and look out for danger from—"

"Lina be serious!" he shouted back. "We _know _there's danger out there now. I'm not leaving you behind. You'd never leave one of us…and I'm not leaving you."

Angelina was startled by his outburst. Alan never acted like this. He grabbed her hand, pulling her with him out of the cave. "But the code..." she answered back meekly.

"Damn the code to…oh shit."

Angelina had barely heard him curse either, but at this time, it was justified. Upon leaving the cave Angelina was immediately hit by the evil chill that swamped the atmosphere. Like a fog, the sense of evil and sorrow was everywhere, but no where specifically. Looking to the east, they could see the darkness that literally swallowed the trees of the forest and the hooded figures that stalked the area, moving fast towards them. Angelina jerked forward.

_It was dark and blurry. Cold and painful. _

_She had offered him everything, even her mother's precious jewelries, and he had laughed in her face. _

_She could still hear him laughing. Everywhere but no where. Laughing as he hurt her. _

_It was so dark, so blurry, was she sitting up or lying down? Was she even alive? But there was the pain, excruciating and sharp. And always the laughter. She felt like time was stopping…and she was falling. She couldn't even scream. _

_NOoo!_

Without even knowing, Angelina was running.

Her shock left her abruptly and all her senses came rushing back on her at once. She was aware of her heart racing, her back sweating, her feet pumping, and her hand held tightly as she was urged to go faster. She stumbled.

"Li? Li…get up. Come on!"

She knew that voice, but was afraid. All the voices in her head were starting to blend together and it was nauseating in their confusion. She was back in his arms again. He wouldn't stop laughing. Laughing at her pain.

"Stop, you bastard! I'll kill you!"

Angelina pulled away as the chill and darkness swept over her again. The laughing got louder, but the other voice was still there.

"Li, let's go! We have to hide. …deeper in the woods."

She was being pulled again; she was barely keeping up. He just wouldn't let go of her hand, but she couldn't fight him anymore. She just concentrated on staying on her feet, wishing she could clear her mind like a technique she was sure she had read back in Hogwarts one time. But she couldn't clear the darkness, the cold, or the laughter…

- - - - - - - -

His apparition landed him a mere six inches in front of the back door in the darkness. There was no light from the house to illuminate his path nor did the stars or moon provide any glow. The overcast that plagued the skies in the daytime concealed the nighttime brightness as well. He slipped inside.

He was swallowed by darkness again and as he whispered the locking spell, his whispers and the resounding click seemed to echo eerily. It was as empty inside as his heart. And equally as dark.

He stood in the darkness breathing deep. It always took a lot out of him to make the apparition to this house. This house that he had grown up in. Then it had been in splendor and extravagance; it had told stories of the generations of pure blood wizards that passed along its heritage to their progenies. It was supposed to eventually be Draco's house. He knew that. Now it lay in degradation and despair, falling prey to years of neglect from the harshness of The War and the evilness that was the result of Voldemort's victory.

Draco couldn't say he liked the house better now, but he had hated it while he was growing up. Although he would've never allowed his classmates to hear him, he admitted now that the times he spent at Hogwarts were the best times of his life, Dumbledore and all.

Now, his life was old, used up. All twenty-four years of him felt battered and tired. Working alongside the Dark Lord was tiresome. Living within the smog of evil and sin was abusing.

Draco walked to the window on the far side of the room he was in. He hadn't lit his wand but he knew where he was going. Bypassing the old, dusty furniture lying concealed in the dark, he made his way to the window and peered through its drapes.

The meeting would start soon.

Since the death of his father (who had not died courageously fighting in the War against Good, but in the bed of a lover after she poisoned him and stole his money), Draco had moved along ranks to be almost the very right hand man of Lord Voldemort. But the position tormented him. For years he harbored no other thoughts than to take down his master.

Some say he had gone sick in the head, a result of the untimely death of his mother, the humility of the death of his father, and watching his Malfoy name and fortune being destroyed by The War. But this seemed to help him in his duty for the Dark Lord for Draco's works were almost as vile and evil as Voldemort's himself. In truth, though, the evilness of Britain stifled him. And so he waited.

As the first cloaked figure in black apparated into sight, Draco moved away from the window and pulled out his wand. The meeting would begin soon.

And Draco knew it as an important one.

----------------------

It was dark. But a different kind of darkness. Angelina laid there for a while, letting her senses come back to her gradually.

Well, she was lying down, she reasoned, so at least they had stopped running.

_They_. Who were 'they'? It had been so confusing; her hallucinations mixing with her reality. Most of the time she couldn't tell if she was being pulled away from danger, or drawn into it.

She was aware of her breathing next. It was rattled and wheezing. Her throat was parched but that was the least of her discomfort. Her muscles ached, she felt bruised and cut. And she had a full and aching bladder.

But she was warm. This was partially due to the rough animal-skin blanket that was thrown over her. But more importantly, the unnatural chill that had crept into her after exiting the cave was gone.

The cave. She wasn't in the cave, and the group wasn't with her. Only Alan. But where was Alan? She couldn't see him. Had he decided to follow The Code after all?

She opened her eyes.

At first it made no difference because the darkness was the same, but then her pupils adjusted. She could make out shapes and silhouettes. Tree branches and leaves with just a hint of the starry sky peaking through were what she eventually recognized. Living in the wild for eight years did that to you: animalistic, basic—essential.

She went to raise herself on her elbows and her hand brushed against something. Leaning towards it, she realized it was the remains of a fire. It hadn't been large or strong, she suspected, but either way, it was completely out now. She raised herself to a sitting position to get a better look at her surroundings. She took in the dirt floor, the tree branches and leaves that almost acted as a roof, and the stone walls, which were only distinguishable by the darker shadowing they emitted in the darkness. She was in another cave, deep, deep inside she suspected. She was just starting to think she was utterly alone when a moan made her jump.

"Alan…" Looking over her left shoulder she finally saw the only other shape that stood out against the floor and walls. A lump lay not many feet away, turning over in its sleep. She dragged herself and blanket over to him, her leg muscles refusing to ease their aching, and turned him onto his back. He was in a deep sleep and didn't wake at her touch.

Although she couldn't see detail, he looked peaceful when he was asleep, and she let herself breathe a deep breath of relief. She leaned down and dropped a kiss on his forehead. He still didn't wake.

He had saved her. She knows he did. The escape, the Dementors, the horrible hallucinations, the snow…it all came back to her now. It had started to snow while she was running with Alan. She had been confused about who he was and where they were going, but she had been so numb that she had stopped fighting.

Right now though, he looked anything but threatening. He looked peaceful, really, and innocent. And inviting. She grabbed the blanket and threw it over them as best as she could. Without a second thought, Angelina cuddled up next to him and fell asleep.

- - - - - - - - - - -

The dragon raced through the plains, getting its much desired exercise and more importantly, freedom. Charlie sat on a rock, chewing a stalk of grass and admiring the tough, rubbery hide of the dragon as the sun's ray skated across it. They were in an open field of wild grass and small bushes with the snowcapped mountains framing the background against a descending sun. It was like one of those muggle post cards he had bought once and sent to the twins just for kicks.

"Wish you were here…" he whispered before blocking away the images of deaths and funerals.

He tossed the stalk of grass away. He stood up on the rock he had previously been relaxing on for the past two hours and pulled out his wand. The dragon had run away this morning; the eighth time in her short three and a half years. But Charlie had been taking care of dragons almost half his life and he knew three year old "babies" as his team called them, could be dangerously precocious and almost 10 feet tall.

Still he hesitated in bringing her back. It wasn't that he was afraid. He was sturdy and broad, the muscles of his chest and arms laying truth to his strength. And he was also quick on his feet and an excellent flyer. No, he wasn't afraid, but he couldn't have worked with dragons so long without fully appreciating what beautiful animals they were. This one obviously loved the mountains and open fields, always running away to pastures that provided an abundance of both. Charlie whistled. And it sure was pretty here, especially in the decreasing sunlight. He figured he could give her another 15 minutes of fun.

He sat back down on the rock, laughing to himself that he had gotten up at least three other times in the past 2 hours claiming to "bring her in". He just really loved the mountains, open plains, and sun as much as she did. Which is why he had stayed in Romania. He had stayed away from Britain and its war. He had left them there all to die.

Yes, it was peaceful out there with the dragon, the plains, and the mountains. A person was able to think, and Charlie was an excellent thinker. Despite his calm, friendly nature, he battled demons of his own. Demons, he admitted, that he still wasn't ready to face.

Shaking his head to get the last of the depressing thoughts out, he looked out towards the field to see that the dragon had gone on a dead sprint towards the foot of the mountain.

"Oh, no you don't." And within the next moment Charlie was flying after her.

Luckily, he had decided to bring his broom, though baby dragons didn't normally need such high security. But now, thankfully, he raced towards her in the air, drawing close enough to hear her angered breathing and a torrent of screams.

This couldn't be good. Swooping down, he spotted her long tail just around a bend. He almost flew smack into her when he discovered a small group of people cowering in her path. She stomped her feet angrily and shot fire 10 feet into the air. The young woman in the front looked as if she might faint.

Thinking fast, he threw a fire-shielding curse towards the small group of three, sheltering them from harm—for now. They could still be trampled.

The dragon stomped her feet angrily and swung around to see who had done the spell. Charlie moved back out of range just as she let out an obligatory breath of fire.

"Well, hello to you too, Shelly" Charlie said laughing.

She let out three more bursts of fire which Charlie dodged easily. He sat there, laughing into the air as she eyed him in frustration. He knew she recognized him, he had brought her back many times to the conservation.

"Are you quite done now?"

In answer Shelly let out another bolt of fire, then flapped her young wings and hung her head low, breathing hard and never keeping her eyes off of his suspended form. Charlie took it back; these babies really weren't all that bad.

He was just about to conjure a magical binding chain around her neck to discourage any further use of her fire and strength, she was small enough for it to work, but a burst of red light flew from the side of the mountain and hit her side. She roared in pain and stumbled a little, her young hide not hard enough to withstand a stunning spell.

"Don't fire!" he screamed. They would only upset her. It was too late.

Shelly roared in anger, looking around for where the offensive spell had come from. Not seeing anyone now, she took to the air flying further into the mountains.

"Oh, damn," Charlie said whistling, "She's gonna throw a tantrum."

Shelly threw a natural, dragon borne tantrum. Knowing where this would lead, Charlie drew in the magical boundaries that kept the dragons from leaving the conservation and into truly dangerous territory. And then he took off.

He was once a Hogwarts Quidditch seeker, and even considered going pro. Now his speed and agility carried him through the air, following his dragoness as she wailed out her anger.

She flew along the insides of the mountain, racing north towards a break in the rocks she must have discovered at another time. She turned to go through but was bounced back. She went at it again, by that time Charlie had caught up again and had constructed a magical binding rope. As she hit the boundary again, this time she got a shock.

"Sorry, girly, you can't go—ahh!"

A bolt of fire shot right over his head. Then two more shot towards his broom, the last catching his boot on fire. He put it out with his wand.

"Wow, they've got you all worked up. Just calm down," he instructed. He kept talking to her as he fixed a lasso onto the end of the rope and made to simply throw it towards her; the magic would do the rest.

Her yellow slit eyes watched him forming the rope, and she breathe one more burst of fire, which he dodged easily, and took off back to where the people had been.

He knew he had caught her now. Leaning forward unto his broom so that he was practically lying on it, he raced along side her and threw the rope just as he could hear the people screaming again. The rope magicked itself around her throat and wrapped around her body, wings plastered to her side.

She fell hard on the ground, thrashing and struggling against the magic. He landed smoothly next to her and walked towards her. She still fought against the ropes that were slowly sucking away her strength. Each angry breath she took emitted jets of steam towards him.

"Its all over now, Shell, just relax," he said coming close enough to touch her. She continued watching him with distrust in her pale, yellow slits.

"I'm sorry, babe" he whispered, just as her eyes closed and her breathing calmed down.

He stared at her for a second longer and then, without turning around asked aloud, "Who let off the stunner?"

The surrounding mountain sides seemed to come alive. People appeared from behind large rocks, from behind bushes, and caves. They all came sheepishly forward so that when Charlie did turn around, he was faced with a small crowd of people of about a dozen or so. He stood his ground watching them. They looked ragged and tired. They seemed remarkably destitute and looked nothing like the wizards he worked with back at camp. He figured they were muggle mountain people that he had once heard tales about. When he finally spotted a small little man with balding hair clutching a wand, his first thought was to get this weapon from him.

"_Expelliarmus."_

The wand shot into the air and landed in Charlie's waiting hands. A gasp went around the group and they all made to run again.

"No, wait. Please. I won't hurt you." He tucked both wands into his pocket and held up both hands. They stopped their retreat and looked back at him. "You can't shoot a spell at a dragon. Trust me, it will only get worse." He wondered if they really understood what he was talking about. He tried to smile at them, but his broad and towering figure coupled with his ragged dirty clothes from chasing the dragon didn't put him in a good light.

He still saw the fear in their eyes and caught them keeping watch on the wands tucked into his pants. He gave up trying to coax them.

"Where did you find this wand?" He pulled the wand back out, looking at it. It didn't look much different from his.

They continued staring at him in fear.

"Well?" he asked a little more strongly.

"Pl…please, sir. We need help," came a small voice. The young woman that uttered it was the same that had been so very frightened of the dragon.

"It's ok. I want to help you." Charlie quickly counted the group and figured his camp could accommodate ten more people. "What happened? How did you get here?"

The story came out in a rush, each person coming forward to add a little bit to the tale. They had been living in the mountains surrounding Britain but had almost gotten caught by an attack of Dementors. Running for their lives, they had tried to head towards another cave for shelter but then the snow had started. Blinded and in fear, they stumbled into a thick forest that led deeper and deeper into the mountains, pass their desired cave. They had hidden in a deep thicket of trees for a day and then had wanted to start looking for a new place to reside. They were delayed a couple hours and had just started to head back towards the cave when someone came upon a wand, fallen and forgotten on the ground. They argued over what to use it for and with the struggle for each of them to cast a spell, the wand did something weird and let out a bolt of silver-ish light. The spell seemed to open a portal and they were sucked into a blur of wind and color. They landed at these mountains and had begun arguing over who cast the spell when the dragon came to them. The rest of the story Charlie knew.

So they _were_ wizards, Charlie realized. They were the wizards rumored to be hiding out in the Britain mountain side away from the evil that had taken over their country. Charlie knew they desperately needed help.

Charlie looked at them again, malnourished, battered, and bruised.

"Were there any others with you?" he asked.

There was an immediate silence. This seemed odd to him, but he couldn't quite see why. It seemed they took a long time to answer but at last the young woman came forward again.

"There are none but us" she said, somewhat eerily.

He stared at the group again and noticed some of them weren't looking into his eyes.

"Well, then, if there's no one else…" he paused again, but no one said anything. "I'll take you back to my camp where there's food and water."

He led them around the dragon, which the group made sure to stay clear of. Charlie knew she's be out for another couple hours at least. He used his wand to send a silent signal to some of the ani-med wizards back at camp. They would come and collect the dragon. And with his new band of followers, Charlie made his way back to the conservation.

Thousands of miles away two forgotten members lay deep in the thicket of the forest looking for their group.

* * *

A/N: What do you think? Please **_review_**! 

A/N2: Looking for a beta if anyone's interested. Or if not, I'll just continue trying to revise it myself if no one minds too much.


	4. Wanted Part I

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or anything in affiliation with the series. This goes for all future chapters.

A/N: Yay. Another update. This one is somewhat short, but it's only part 1 and things get into motion now. I'm excited! Lol. Anyway, part 2 will come soon. So stay tuned. Thanks to my reviews of last chapter and thanks for all other past reviewers and future ones. Don't forget to do it again :)

--------------------

_**End of**_**Chapter 3: **Forgotten

Well, then, if there's no one else…" he paused again, but no one said anything. "I'll take you back to my camp where there's food and water."

And with his new band of followers, Charlie made his way back to the conservation.

- - - - -

Thousands of miles away two forgotten members lay deep in the thicket of the forest looking for their group.

* * *

**The Strength In The Wild**

_By Crzyangelchic_

**_Chapter 4:_** Wanted - Part I

Alan stood frozen to the spot, wanting to look away, but unable to. His cheeks were burning red, and he wondered how he had enough blood left to heat his face—and make other parts of him heated as well.

His hand shook a little, the cup of tea he still clenched completely forgotten to him. He knew he should look away, back away slowly and pretend he didn't see anything. But he just couldn't.

Angelina Johnson was bathing. Well, she wasn't actually bathing at the moment; she was merrily playing a rolling game with a rabbit from the surrounding woods. But she no doubt had been bathing because she was gloriously naked.

He watched as she rolled an acorn towards the rabbit, who kept a safe distance. Her back was to him and he took great notice of her long legs, curvaceous hips and even how gracefully her back arched. Her coppery skin seemed healthy and vibrant in the sunlight. She laughed as the rabbit took a dainty sniff of the acorn and pushed at it with its paw. Then it ran back into the trees. She looked dejected, then turned around back towards the lake. Alan almost gasped out loud at the sight of her full nudity before him. Yes they have been living together for eight years, but he had _never_ seen her in less than undergarments. He had to admit that those ragged clothes did nothing to help her figure. She was truly beautiful.

She reached down to splashed water over herself. Alan bit back a groan as she stood up again and the early morning light glistened on her skin. Not paying attention, he spilled the hot tea all over his hand. He let out a hiss and just managed to duck away as she turned sharply his way.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," he chanted to himself as he jogged the way back to the cave they were camping out in. But he admitted that he'd give more than his left hand to see all of that again, and to do more.

He hoped she hadn't seen him. He really hadn't meant to walk in on her. She was already gone when he had woken this morning. He made tea and waited for her, but she didn't come back. He tracked her footsteps and before he knew it, he was at the small lake they had stumbled upon a couple days ago. Maybe he did know where he was heading but he had been too far in to change his mind then.

He preoccupied himself pouring more tea. His hand barely stung anymore and as he took his place back alongside the fire, he couldn't help but wonder why nothing ever did develop between him and his wood companion. After all, he reasoned, they were stuck in the harsh wilderness together, alone, and lost. He was sure she knew he was interested in her and they could both use some comforting.

He sat there waiting for her as his cheeks burned red again and his body reacted to the memory of her wet, nudity. He decided that maybe it was time he took some action. Make a move. Even though at the moment, he admitted, he was in no position to move at all.

As silent as the wind, fully-clothed Angelina stepped into the cave and walked over to him. Catching a glimpse of her shadow, Alan jumped and quickly lowered the cup of tea to his lap, covering himself.

He was sure he was probably even more red in the face, but he hoped the dim lighting of the cave covered most of it.

"Want some tea?" he asked innocently. No hint of embarrassment laced his question and he wondered why he never took up acting.

"Sure" she answered, just as smoothly. Then she dropped down beside him to have some much desired tea.

-------------------

Charlie stumbled along the dark hallway, cursing himself for leaving his wand back in his room. His bladder was about to burst and he swore loudly when he ran into a box that had been left lying around. Why the hell is this dump such a bloody mess, he grumbled to himself. When he finally found the bathroom, he sighed in relief, grateful he had made it there in one piece—more or less. He was just washing up at the sink and thinking to go right back to bed, he would have to be up early in the morning, when he heard whispered voices. Well, not even whispered. Someone was whispering, but at least two other people were not making much of an effort to keep their voices down.

"Well, how am I _supposed_ to act?"

Charlie stopped on his way out the bathroom and leaned an ear towards where the voices were coming from.

Someone was whispering in response to the question, but Charlie couldn't make out the words.

Another voice spoke out loud again. This one was soft and feminine, and somewhat frightened. "Well, he definitely won't give us back the wand. How can we really trust him?"

Charlie realized they were talking about him and, curiosity peaked, started heading down the hall towards the room with the voices.

There came the whispering again but Charlie just couldn't hear the words.

"Jerry, you can't seriously be thinking of just leaving them there! I wouldn't have thought it of you."

"I would." Came the female voice again in an offhanded way.

Leave who? Charlie wondered. He couldn't even figure out whose conversation he was listening to. He didn't know Jerry nor did he recognize any of the voices.

The first voice spoke again, after a long tirade of whispering that Charlie didn't hear.

"Well, your damned right he wont give you the wand back. Who would? Letting off a stunner at a dragon. Sometimes I swear you're mad Jer—"

He was cut off by angry whispering.

Then the girl spoke. "I don't know about you two but if we're going to try and find Lina and Alan we need to tell someone _now_!"

The room went quiet.

Finally the whisperer found his voice and asked the all important question. "How do you know they're still alive, anyway?"

So they did leave someone behind. And now they wanted to go back and find them? Charlie let out a sigh. It was too late now. It had been days since they had showed up in Romania. The magic that brought them here had probably lost all its traces by now. Charlie did feel bad that they hadn't told him sooner, though. He hated to think of them leaving two of their members to die…and that's if they aren't already gone.

The woman's voice came again. "Well we won't know unless we look, will we? It was your foolishness and bullheaded stubbornness that made us leave without looking for them anyway."

"Hey, I don't know _what_ that spell was that brought us here, but I didn't do it. Plus, Elisa was more against looking for them than I was. 'The Code, the Code, the Code,'" he imitated the high voice of the young girl that had spoken to Charlie that first time with the dragon.

The room seemed to sigh as one.

"The Code…" the two other voices said in unison.

And then after some time, "So what do you suppose we do then, Jerry?"

Charlie waited anxiously, somehow tied up in the story now.

With a great sigh, he simply answered, "We do nothing." The other two started to complain right away. "Until…," he continued shushing them, "until we get the wand back and…and then we can take it from there."

The woman let out a disbelieving humph, but there seemed an end to the conversation.

Charlie made his way back to his room, thinking over what he had just heard. He didn't know what that man planned on doing if he got the wand back. It's doubtful if the portal will work backwards and take them back to England. And that's if they can still trace the spell. All that time may have sucked up its energy. Charlie gave a last sad thought to the two forgotten members, and quietly drifted into sleep.

- - - - - - -

The next day seemed to go as usual. Charlie woke with the morning sun, knowing that it was the time when the dragons were most awake. He headed out towards the pastures, meeting another dragon keeper along the way. They traded insults, picked out a dragon for the morning, and then went their separate ways to do the morning "dragon taming". Charlie jumped onto his broom, waving over his shoulder at his crewmate and headed towards the pen of a beautiful Peruvian Vipertooth. Its smooth copper-colored hide shone brightly in the rising sun. Unlike Shelly, this dragon was full grown, and although small in breed, all 20 feet of him was dangerous. Especially his venomous fangs. Charlie knew this dragon well though, and loved the work out that came with trying to tame dragons.

After wrestling with death for the morning, Charlie had showered and then headed in to the main dining tent to grab a cup of coffee and start the real work for the day.

It was shortly after noon when Charlie was coming in from fixing a glitch with one of the boundary wards that a tall, determined-looking woman strode up to him. Charlie knew her as one of the refugees but had never spoken to her before.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely, though a little weary.

She stared intensely into his eyes, then grabbed his hand and stuffed a piece of paper in it.

Confused, he opened the paper to see a drawing of a woman on the left, and a then another drawing of a man.

"We need you to find them."

Charlie looked up at the woman. He recognized her voice now from the night before. He guessed that she probably went against that Jerry guy, but he wasn't sure he could help her.

"We…left them back in England." She continued in a rush, mistaking his silence as a sign of refusal. "I know they must still be alive. Lina's the most clever out of all of us. And Alan's with her. He's…well…at least he wouldn't leave her. And she wouldn't leave him. And she'd never leave one of —,"

"Ok, ok. Let me just, sit down a while." It was incredibly draining to work all morning on fixing ward magic.

He led her to the dining tent and took a seat at one of the long wooden tables. He was just wondering what to have for lunch, and how to tell her he wouldn't be able to find them, when something in the picture caught his eye.

The woman in the drawing looked strangely familiar. It was a very good drawing, portrait-like and filled with detail. Something about the smile, and the one dimple in the cheek. He could've sworn he'd seen that smile before.

"Hmm. What did you say was her name again?" he asked, pointing at the lady.

"Lina." She saw him questioning further with his eyes. "Lina…uh, well we don't really know her last name. We're all fugitives you know. Running away and all that. We don't really care to be connected to our old selves." She paused and thought for a second. "I think it started with a 'J' though. Lina J." She looked back at him, "Sorry if that doesn't help."

He didn't look back at her, just kept looking at the picture. He didn't notice how her eyes roved over him. He was quite handsome. And although he wasn't too trusted by the refugees, he did spark an interested in the female members. After all the starving and living in the wilderness, he looked like a god to them: flaming red hair that looked to be fire in the sunlight; broad, strong shoulders covered in those freckles that covered his whole body and made him look ever more tan than he was; and most importantly he had very kissable lips. Those kissable lips were turned down in a frown now though, as he tried to remember who the hell was this lady that looked somewhat familiar.

Somehow, looking at her kept reminding him of his family. And that unsettled him to no end.

"No, I don't know who it is. But it doesn't matter…uh?"

"Susan," she answered with a flutter of her lashes.

"Uh, right, Susan. I don't think there's any trace of the magic left out there to find what spell you used to get here."

She looked so disappointed, Charlie looked away.

"But couldn't you try anyway. Please, Charlie, we never should have left her there. And I just feel like she's alive, I just know it."

He hadn't thought she knew his name. He looked from her concerned eyes back down at the paper. The portrait woman smiled back at him, dimpling just one cheek. Suddenly a flash of a memory of the twins popped into his heads and he had to squeeze his eye shut to get it out. When he looked back up, Susan was still watching him.

"Oh, Okay, I'll try the tracing charm tomorrow morning when I'm heading that way. But I can't promise you anything. I'm…uh, sorry for your loss."

He tried to give the paper back to her, but she stopped his hand. "No, you keep it. Just find them, okay? Bring them back here."

And just as quickly as she'd come, she left, taking long strides back to the sleeping tents. Charlie slipped the paper into his pocket, not putting too much hope into finding either lost member. But he didn't know how very haunting those familiar eyes and smile would be.

* * *

A/N: What do you think? Will Charlie get to save her? And what's with Alan and Angie :winks: Please **review**! 

Second half of "Wanted" coming REAL soon. And finally, Charlie meets Angelina.


	5. Wanted Part II

A/N: --sheepishly looks at reader-- well now…well, yes. This chapter was to come "soon" but yeah, I have been hell-a busy with classes and exams and life. So I shant promise anything else (because I'll probably break it) BUT, I am on Spring Break so maybe, just maybe, there's potential for quicker updates. Wish me luck! But please do read. It's part 2 of Wanted. Tell me what you think.

Also, _thanks to my reviews_ of last chapter (and those before)! You all rock my sock and keep me going. Don't forget to do it again. :-)

**Chapter 4 (Revisited): **Wanted- Part I

Alan:  
He sat there waiting for her as his cheeks burned red again and his body reacted to the memory of her wet, nudity. He decided that maybe it was time he took some action. Make a move.

The Group:  
Then the girl spoke. "I don't know about you two but if we're going to try and find Lina and Alan we need to tell someone _now_!"

The room went quiet.

Finally the whisperer found his voice and asked the all important question. "How do you know they're still alive, anyway?"

Charlie:  
Charlie slipped the paper into his pocket, not putting too much hope into finding either lost member. But he didn't know how very haunting those familiar eyes and smile would be.

* * *

**The Strength In The Wild**

_By Crzyangelchic_

**_Chapter 5:_** Wanted- Part II

Angelina wasn't sure how she really felt about this supposed _date_ with Alan. He insisted that it wasn't a date and that they really were just there to enjoy looking at the stars, munching on dried berries and sipping on their version of iced tea. But as Angelina settled deeper into the crook of Alan's arms and gazed at the beautiful array of stars, she wondered if his intentions didn't really lie in the zone of trying to—seduce her? Angelina could almost laugh at the idea. Not Alan. But he had been acting weird all day. She figured it was having him stumble upon her early-morning bath at the lake. At first she was all Ms. Propriety and embarrassed indignation, but then, thinking about it, it wasn't something so unnatural. She wondered how a band of a dozen people didn't happen to encounter times of encroached privacy more often. Though, she did remind herself, many members gave up theirs willingly by becoming intimate with others in the group.

"So, uh, you comfortable, Li?"

Angelina smiled at his shy question and turned to nuzzle his neck and settle in deeper into his embrace.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm enjoying the whole romantic midnight snack and stargazing thing."

There was a pause where Angelina was sure Al was blushing, but as she was lying alongside him she couldn't see.

"What romance? Just two friends lying and looking at stars. Same stars we've always admired living out in the wild. That's all," he said at last.

But Angelina could feel his heart racing and suspected he really did take this stargazing to be something more. She wondered if he would mention the bathing incident of that morning. Just yesterday she would've definitely said he wouldn't; Al's always been the reserved, bashful type. But then again, she wouldn't have foreseen herself laying in his arms gazing at stars as he slowly and surreptitiously caressed her arm. And definitely wouldn't have expected the peeking incident this morning. Alan was turning out to be quite the bold fellow.

"Though, if you wanted to be something more, I'm up for it—"

Buying time, Angelina pretended not to hear. "What's that, Al?"

She gave a mighty stretch and, giving up stargazing, turned onto her side so that she was tucked within the curve of his neck and shoulder. He was warm and secure, making her feel she could fall into a deep and comfortable slumber. She put her arm around his chest and felt his hand move down to the small of her back. She felt his breathing grow a little shallower and fought the urge to smile into his neck. She should probably stop playing with the poor guy's feelings. But she did wonder why she didn't just give in and become, well, intimate with him.

He cleared his throat, probably deciding whether he should repeat what he had said or not.

"I think you heard me," he said seriously "and I want to know what you think."

She wasn't expecting that.

He leaned up to rest on his elbow and look down on her. She immediately missed the warmth that he had been supplying.

She kept her eyes closed and faked sleep though she knew he'd never buy that. In honesty, she just wasn't sure what she felt or what to do with him. She was in a good mood, lying here with him and letting him caress and hold her, but she just didn't know yet.

"Lina, look at me." His tone was soft but commanding.

Angelina felt herself conceding to this new, in-control Alan. She opened her eyes to a mesmerizing site of Alan's face framed against a backdrop of a billion stars. The site was captivating and following the look in his compassionate eyes, she allowed him to tilt her head back and before she had fully closed her eyes, his lips touched hers.

- - - - - - -

Charlie raced through the chilly morning air on his broom, feeling his heart beat fast against his constricted chest.

_Lina. Lina? Why didn't he see? Angelina._

The ground blurred beneath him in the predawn darkness and it was a wonder he managed to fly in the correct direction. He saw the mountain up ahead getting closer and felt his heart beat even faster as uncertainty crept into his consciousness. He had to find that spell.

It had all started out with a dream, common enough at first, with dragons and the crewmates and the reservation. Then it had turned into a nightmare, filled with dark cloaked figures and freshly dug mounds of dirt brandishing headstones that marked the loss of the battle against Evil. He stood by two that, even in death, was somehow more identical to each other than the other fresh graves surrounding them. Fred Weasley and George Weasley—along with words of remembrance and dates so finite it ached to look at. And always the feeling of guilt that seemed to palpably be standing next to him looking down at the identical graves as he was. But then a new face had popped into view just across the grave yard, watching from a distance. There stood the girl in the portrait—just as she was drawn, with a dimple flashing in one cheek and a reserved, yet radiating smile. Along with the impropriety of her smiling in this gloomy gloomy time, was the fact that she was dressed in Quidditch robes of red and gold. Her smile and attire irked him and he was about to call out to her when she turned around and started walking towards the edge of the graveyard, away from him. That's when he saw the named written on the back of her uniform. Unlike the common practice of putting last names, her jacket specifically said 'Angelina'. Angelina. Before he could chase after her, he was sitting up in the darkness of his room, shivering in cold sweat and fighting against the remnants of the dream.

It had taken him less than 5 minutes to dress and get his broom. Grabbing the two wands, his and the one he had confiscated from Jerry, he dashed out into the night.

_Lina. No, not Lina, but _Ange_lina._

Charlie finally reached the spot after what seemed to take hours. He casted a quick spell to shrink his broom and hastily shoved it into his pocket.

_We're all fugitives you know. Running away and all that. We don't really care to be connected to our old selves. _

Angelina was there—had been there with this group of people. He had thought that practically all ties to his family had been lost. He had lost almost everyone in the fight if not shortly after it. But Angelina. He hadn't recognized her at once but that smile and those eyes followed him into his dreams and he was determined to save at least one person of his past. He figured the motto, 'a little too late', may come into play here, but he wouldn't, _couldn't_, allow for another person to quietly slip out of his life and past as if…as if he too were dead.

He tried to get as close to the spot as possible where he had found the group of people almost a week ago. He cursed himself for not waiting until morning to at least get more information from Susan about the spell instead of fumbling around in the darkness now. He was really praying for a miracle, here. He didn't know the exact position the spell had spewed out the group nor did he have much faith in the traces of the energy of the spell still being there.

But he prayed anyway.

Using his wand, he touched his tip to that of the one that had casted the spell and concentrated hard on the most powerful tracing spell he could think of. When the two tips began to glow red from the tracing spell, he pulled the wands apart leaving a streak of red line between the wands. The tracing spell mimicked that of the _Priori Incantatem_ spell, except instead of showing the last spell the wand performed (which wouldn't have helped him much since the last spell was the stunner Jerry fired at the dragon), a strong tracing spell was able to act as a record keeper, not only finding the strength and location of the last spell, but able to reincarnate the spell based on the energy traces the spell had left. Which is why having so much time pass after the spell was performed provided a giant obstacle. Even if Charlie found the location and type of spell, he might not be able to recreate it and get to Britain.

He pulled the two wands wide apart and swung the arc the red streak created in a wide circle. When nothing happened, he did it again, spinning first clockwise then counterclockwise. He was just starting to think all traces of the magic were gone when finally a small silvery dot appeared to his right. Hardly daring to believe, he kept swinging his red arc of light until the silvery light opened wider into a portal of swirling color. He broke the arc of light between wands and jumped into the portal, disappearing without a second thought to where the flash of lights and sounds would lead him.

- - - - - - -

It was hopeless.

Alan agreed with Angelina's decision to simply move on and find shelter in a new and higher cave than the vulnerable one they had stayed in for the past couple days. It had been over a week since they'd seen their group, and in a wilderness like this, it was likely they may never meet them again. After all, they had barely met any other groups like theirs in all eight years; all the hiding mountain people operated by stealth. Alan hated the thought of surviving with just him and Angelina. Living in the mountains required the combined effort of a group of people, each adding their own asset to the group. He feared how long he and Angelina would last, traveling in such small numbers.

He glanced at his companion walking along beside him. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a messy bun and she looked hot and tired. Sweat clung to her neck and chest and she had dirt smudges by her ear lobe.

She was beautiful.

He thought of last night and still couldn't believe how bold he had become. He had promised earlier that day that he'd finally make his move. He'd finally tell her how he felt and express his feelings and desire to be with her. What he was most surprised about was that she had complied.

They were not as intimate as he had hoped, but he knew that there would be time for that later. He was just happy to have been able to express his wanting and feel it reciprocated.

He continued staring at her, wanting more than ever to feel her lips beneath his again and feel her warm body against his. He kept staring, waiting for her to look back at him, but she continued looking around the forest.

"If you keep looking at me and not watching where you're going, you're going to walk into a tree," she said with a smile, still not looking at him.

"It'll be worth it," he said in response, still waiting for her to look at him.

The next moment, not looking where he's going, his foot snagged on a half buried stone and he lurched forward. Angelina just managed to grab on to him and they both fell to the ground, she landing on top of him.

"See," he said wryly, grunting against the pain of the fall, "this was my plan all along."

She laughed as he pulled her down for a kiss. But as the kiss turned deeper she pulled away and stood up. Trying not to show his disappointment, he smiled up at her and extended a hand, letting her pull him back to his feet. He was tempted to kiss her again, but she was in a weird mood, resisting his advances all morning somewhat. They continued on the path as she pulled a hand-drawn map from her knapsack to check their position.

"We'll turn here." She checked the map again. "There's a stream coming up. We can rest there a little."

They had been walking all day and Alan looked forward to this rest. They would finally get a chance to talk. Or snog. Or shag. Whatever she wanted, he thought as his face started to turn red again.

At the stream she splashed water on herself, trying to cool her skin and wash away the sweat. He followed her lead and then he settled back against a large rock to wait for her to join him. She stood up from her washing and just looked out towards the surrounding trees. He was just about to call her over when she ducked down again and swung wide, frightened eyes to him. Alan knew what was wrong right away.

There was someone there. A surge of protectiveness swelled within him and his only thought was to get Angelina safely away.

Ducking low too, he ran over to her but she was already headed towards the shelter of two boulders resting against each other. Just as they dove behind them, a rustle of leaves brought the intruder into the clearing where they were just washing themselves.

Alan could feel Angelina trembling beside him and it took everything in him not to follow suit. He was scare out of his wits, but he had to protect her. They crouched behind the boulder, not daring to breathe, and prayed that whoever—whatever—it was it would leave soon.

But they heard no evidence of the intruder moving on, no rustle of leaves or footsteps. It seemed to be moving as stealthily as they did. Did it possibly see them before they had a chance to hide? Maybe it had been watching them the whole time. Alan leaned his head against Angelina's lowered one, afraid to even think of the consequences of them being caught.

Then they heard it.

The intruder's breathing could be heard nearby, as if it was right behind the boulder. Somewhere inside him, Alan felt the strength of a creature he had never experienced before. And he realized that he would fight for her—even to his death. He let himself ride on that emotion, ready to strike out at the second the situation called for it.

"Angelina?"

It was the most unexpected thing to hear. The question was soft-spoken and uncertain. Alan, still riding the new emotions of desperation and fear-laced strength, was even more surprised when his companion in his arms started to extract herself and move, almost in a trance, towards the front of the boulder. He grabbed her; afraid she'd reveal them in the hiding place.

"Angelina, is that you?"

_Angelina_? What was this intruder talking about? Alan wondered. The creature inside him was subsiding as his brain struggled to make sense of all of this. Angelina slowly extracted herself and went towards the end of the boulder again and this time he was just a bit too late to stop her.

"Lina!" he whispered urgently, racing after her. He came to a dead stop at the site that greeted him.

A wizard, by the look of the robes he wore, stood by the bank of the stream, holding a wand in one hand and a broom in the other. His robe was not the black of the dark wizards that roamed the streets asking for papers, nor did it carry the Dark Mark emblem on the front like those did. Flaming red hair shown brightly in the midday sunlight and his dark green eyes seemed locked onto Angelina. Alan finally looked towards his companion to see her frozen, trance-like looking back at the wizard.

"Ange—Angelina? Oh Angie," the wizard said at last, moving towards her.

Alan immediately moved between the wizard and Angelina and he felt her cling to his back. He didn't know who this wizard was but he had upset her and Alan could feel that creature stirring inside him again.

He eyed the stranger's wand suspiciously. He didn't trust wands anymore and he didn't trust this man.

The stranger seemed to have just noticed that Angelina was not alone now that Alan was clearly blocking her view from him. The scene seemed frozen in that way. The two men glaring at each other. He gave Alan a look of confusion then tried for a reassuring smile.

Alan didn't trust that bloody smile either. He was still contemplating what to do about this stranger when Angelina stepped out from behind him, the trance-like look gone from her eyes. Alan watched as she took a step towards the wizard, and then within a second, had launched herself into his arms.

Alan stood by watching as he felt his creature let out a whine of hurt and then it shrunk into the smallest atom of nothingness. Alan stood by watching, thinking, he didn't trust this man.

* * *

A/N: What do you think? Please **_review_**!

Also, how do you suppose they will get back to Romania? Don't forget to review. :-)


End file.
